1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to portable communication apparatuses, such as cellular phones, PDAs (personal digital assistants), HHPs (hand held phones), and PCS (personal communication service) phones, and more particularly to a portable digital communication apparatus adapted to be opened/closed through sliding and rotation motions to rotate a camera lens.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a “portable communication apparatus” refers to an electronic apparatus which a user can carry with him to perform wireless communication with a desired partner. Conventional portable communication apparatuses necessarily have an antenna device, a data input/output device, a transceiver unit, and the like. For the sake of portability, designs of such portable communication apparatuses tend to be compact, slim, and light. Multimedia availability is also a consideration, where having a wider variety of functions is desirable.
In particular, future portable communication apparatuses are expected to incorporate greater multi-functionality and multi-purpose utilization, as well as being more compact and lighter, while capable of various multimedia environments or Internet environments. Additionally, such portable communication apparatuses are now commonly used throughout the world, and are recognized by some people as a nearly indispensable commodity which must always be carried.
Conventional portable communication apparatuses may be classified into various types according to their appearance, such as bar-type portable communication apparatuses, flip-type portable communication apparatuses, and folder-type portable communication apparatuses. The bar-type portable communication apparatus has a single housing shaped like a bar. The flip-type portable communication apparatus has a flip which is pivotably mounted to a bar-shaped housing by a hinge device. The folder-type portable communication apparatus has a folder coupled to a single bar-shaped housing by a hinge device to allow the folder to be rotated in order to be folded towards or unfolded away from the housing.
Further, portable communication apparatuses may be classified into neck-wearable type communication apparatuses and wrist-wearable type communication apparatuses according to the position at or the way in which a user puts on the communication apparatus. The neck wearable type communication apparatus is one which a user wears around the neck using a string, while the wrist wearable type communication apparatus is one which a user wears around the wrist.
Additionally, portable communication apparatuses may be classified into rotation-type communication apparatuses and sliding-type communication apparatuses depending on the particular way the communication apparatus is opened. In the rotation-type portable communication apparatus, two housings are coupled to each other in such a manner that one housing rotates open or closed relative to the other while facing each other. In the sliding-type portable communication apparatus, two housings are coupled to each other in a manner so that one housing slides along a longitudinal direction so as to be opened or closed relative to the other. These variously classified portable communication apparatuses can be easily understood by those skilled in the art.
Meanwhile, conventional portable communication apparatuses now tend to have the capability of transmitting data at a high speed in addition to the basic function of performing voice communication. In other words, according to increased demand by consumers, portable communication apparatuses now tend to provide service using wireless communication technology capable of transmitting data at a high speed.
Recent portable communication apparatuses tend to be equipped with a camera lens enabling it to transmit an image signal. That is, current conventional portable communication apparatuses may have an external or imbedded camera lens module which enables a user to make an image communication with a desired partner or to take a photograph of a desired subject.
However, in many cases it is inconvenient to use the external or imbedded camera lens module employed by conventional portable communication apparatuses. The external camera lens module must always be carried separately from the portable communication apparatus. It is therefore possible to lose the module or fail to have it when necessary. The imbedded camera lens module also has a problem in that its camera lens is fixed, and therefore users must assume an inconvenient posture when taking a photograph of a subject or when making an image communication with a partner.